`Heart Condition` An Unwell Comedy

February 02, 1990|By Dave Kehr.

Judging from the advertising campaign, James D. Parriott`s ``Heart Condition`` was meant to be a comedy, though in its violence, language and general grunginess it seems a lot more like an inept remake of ``Taxi Driver,`` into which someone has unaccountably inserted some awkward sight gags. It`s not a pleasant spectacle.

The Travis Bickle figure here is Jack Moony (Bob Hoskins, whose American accent seems to have slipped since ``Who Framed Roger Rabbit``), a Los Angeles vice detective who drinks Jim Beam from the bottle, chain smokes unfiltered cigarettes and lunches daily on dripping greaseburgers. He`s obsessed with Napoleon Stone (Denzel Washington), a prosperous black lawyer who specializes in defending high-priced call girls. Stone, it seems, has moved in on Moony`s ex-girlfriend Crystal Gerrity, a spacey prostitute played in a permanent whine by ``Sid and Nancy`s`` Chloe Webb.

Moon, as he`s known to his few friends, is an inveterate racist in addition to his other charming qualities. When the inevitable happens and Moon collapses from a massive heart attack, he`s rescued by a transplant operation- and the donor, of course, is the unlucky Stone, who has perished in a highly suspicious car accident.

It takes Parriott what seems like several more hours of plot setup to arrive at what is, after all, just another buddy movie. Stone`s ghost appears to Moon and demands his help in finding out who murdered him, leading into some not quite hilarious racial invective and a large number of allegedly comic sequences in which Moon appears to be talking to the air, Stone being invisible to everyone else. Eventually, however, they bond successfully.

``Heart Condition`` was produced by Steve Tisch, who in 1986 financed

``Soul Man,`` another odd film that turned race relations into strained situation comedy. Tisch may believe he`s doing his bit to close America`s racial divide, but it`s hard to see what point is served when an ostenstibly sympathetic character like Moon is allowed to air racist sentiments, even in jest.

The material is far too ugly to sustain the kind of light comic treatment Parriott wants to give it, and a sour, depressive quality hangs over the project as a whole.

``HEART CONDITION``

(STAR)

Directed and written by James D. Parriott; photographed by Arthur Albert;

edited by David Finfer; production designed by John Muto; music by Patrick Leonard; produced by Steve Tisch. A New Line Cinema release; opens Feb. 2 at the Burnham Plaza, Water Tower, Webster Place and outlying theaters. Running time: 1:40. MPAA rating: R. Violence, strong language, adult situations.